Mid-Life Musical
by Pickles and Pies
Summary: Ryan and Kelsi meet up after not talking to each other for 8 years. Ryan's emotionally hurt from his fiancee and Kelsi is a single mother whose ex-husband is serving life in prison. Will their nosy high school friends who keep visiting succeed in starting the spark between them? *better then summary* Ryan/Kelsi Minor: Zeke/Sharpay/Peyton Troy/Gabriella Chad/Taylor


**I love Ryan and Kelsi together SO much but the only** **fics that I could find of them was one with Troy as a serial killer and at lot of them with less then 1k words and incomplete(most of them haven't been "updated" in 6 years). So, I decided to make my own. This is centered around Ryan and Kelsi but most of the other characters are either mentioned or will appear.**

 **Furthermore, I don't know where we came up with this or how but I actually like the concept. Hope you guys will too! PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **[HSM3 ended with most of the characters at 18. Ryan and Kelsi are now 33.]**

 **[This does have multiple authors]**

 **~Pickles**

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Kelsi opened the cafe door and stepped inside. The cold winter wind blew a few flakes of snow inside before the door closed tight. Immediately warmth spread through the songwriter's body. She removed her gloves as she made her way to the counter. "Good afternoon Brittany," she greeted with a smile.

The short woman behind the counter turned to her with a smile. "Hey Kelsi! You'r in early."

"My boss let us all go home cause there is supposed to be a blizzard heading in. I thought I'd stop in to pick up some hot cocoa for Parker and Caitlyn on my way home," the younger woman explained, sitting on a stool near the counter.

Brittany smiled warmly at her. "Lucky girl. Mr. Dybie wouldn't let us go early if a hurricane was headed straight for us," she declared, recieving a chuckle from Kelsi. "Who is watching Parker and Caitlyn for you? Please tell me it's not that Melanie chic again."

"Absolutely not. She let Caitlyn play in the garbage shoot AND she let Parker eat an entire container of ice cream before eating his supper. I'll take them to work with me before I hire her again," Kelsi exclaimed. "Mr. and Mrs. Marshal from across the hall are watching them."

Brittany smiled widely. "So the usuals, I'm guessing?"

Kelsi nodded to the woman. Brittany had become one of her closest friends, the other being Sharpay Evans surprisingly, since she moved to New York nine years ago when she was 24. Brittany and Sharpay had been the two people who had stuck by her from the begining. And for that, Kelsi was eternally grateful.

As Brittany turned around to make the hot cocoas and chai tea, Kelsi looked around the cozy cafe. The sense of peace and tranquility was amplified by all the loving couples huddled on the couches and in the seats. With the snow falling fast and freezing temperatres outside, the cozy cafe was a haven. The crackling fire in a stone fireplace, dim lights, and Christmas decor made the place a shelter for those who wished to relish in the small amount of peace that the City That Never Sleeps had to offer.

The songwriter's mood was dampened at the sight of all the couples. As much as she hated to admit it, Kelsi missed her ex-husband. He was never all that kind to her and he never payed much attention to the kids but she had still loved him. It was around this time 7 years ago when he proposed. Christmas always seemed to remind her of that.

And 3 years ago around this time, he divorced her. The divorce was soon followed by drinking, burglary, first-degree murder, and a life sentence. Kelsi hadn't know what had gone wrong. Out of the blue he had announced that he wanted a divorce and the next thing she knows, she's interrogated by police officers.

She doesn't neccessarily want him back, nevermind out of prison, but she misses the comfort. Once upon a time she had felt safe in his arms. Like he would never let anything happen to her. She had only felt that way once before. Kelsi let the first one get away and she didn't want the second one to too. Little did she know how much pain and heart break he would bring to her. Nevermind what he would do to their children.

Her reminiscent thoughts were interrupted by Brittany placing a drink carrier with four cups on the counter in front of her. The scent of chocolate and spiced chai wafted from the carrier to Kelsi's nose.

"There you go. I added an extra chai for you, on the house."

Kelsi smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks. I can really use it. Just add the rest to my tab, kay?" she requested, putting her gloves back on and grabbing the carrier.

"Will do," Brittany replied. "Later Kels!"

Kelsi called a hurried good bye over her shoulder before she pushed the door open and forced herself into the cold. The streets were surprisingly empty for New York. The few that braved the cold were drowing in coats, scarves, and hats. As the mother made her way down the street, the snow seemed to silence everything and everyone around her. The only noticable noise was the hum of taxi cabs and the fate mumbling of chatter.

Kelsi forced herself to inspect the street as she walked on, trying to get her mind off her ex-husband. Soon enough she found herself at the lobby of her apartment building. It wasn't the most fancy place but it was certainly not the most used or rundown either. It was perfect for Kelsi. The automatic doors seemed to reluctantly slide open as she approached.

She moved from the doors to the elevator, nodding politly to the woman behind the desk. While waiting for the elevator, Kelsi took a closer look around. Nothing was out of the ordinary besides the seasonal decor. Though the man in a trench coat with a hat looked a little out of place. He was clearly wearing expensive clothing which Kelsi thought to be ridiculous. She then reminded herself that under her layers of coats, she was also wearing expensive clothing, not to mention what brands her children were wearing.

You always hear stories of widows or single mothers who can barely afford food or are struggling to pay rent but Kelsi isn't like that. She was one of the lucky ones, she guessed. Having a high paying job plus the government money put her in good financial shape.

Kelsi boarded the elevator with her drinks just as the man turned around. He was on the phone with someone and didn't look her way but there was something so familiar about him. Kelsi was almost overcome by a sense of comfort and joy. And she had no clue why. She pried her eyes from him and stared intently at the drinks in her hands. _''Why do I feel like I know him?"_ she thought as the elevator doors closed.

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

"I know Sharpay,," the blonde haired mam sighed as he turned around.

 _"You have to get here before tonight!"_ came the voice from the other side of the line.

"I'll try my best but..." Ryan's words got stuck in his throat as he looked up to see a woman in the elevator. She was looking down at her carrier of drinks so Ryan couldn't see her eyes. Something still seemed familiar and warm about her though. He just couldn't think what.

 _"Ryan? Ryan! Hello! Are you still there?"_

Ryan quickly snapped out of it as the elevator doors closed. "Uh yeah. Listen, the snow was getting bad so I ducked into an apartment lobby to wait for a while. I promise I will make it, sis."

The man heard an exasperated sigh from the other end. _"Fine! But where are you? I don't want you to be on the other side of New York."_

Ryan looked around the apartment lobby for a name of some sort. "Somewhere near Morona Street. A apartment building called The Blue Man, I think."

 _"The Blue Prince. That's only a ten minute drive from here. Oh! One of your college buddies actually lives there! You two should totally catch up while you wait on the weather."_

"Who do I know that lives here?" Ryan asked, thourughly confused. He began listing off his college friends in his head.

 _"Oh my gosh! You seriously remember? Kelsi! Kelsi Nielson slash used to be Opperman! We went to middle school and high school with her. You two were like besties in college..."_

"Yes, Sharpay! I do remember her," Ryan interrupted his sister. Suddenly realization dawned on him. The woman in the elevator! She must have been Kelsi! No wonder he felt a connection. They had dated briefly in high school and had been extremely close at Juilliard. "Wait, used to be Opperman. What happened to Drew?"

There was a sigh. _"Wow! You are SO far behind. Kelsi lives in D5. Go up and talk to her. BUT DON'T LEAD WITH THE OPPERMAN THING! She's a little sensitive around this time of year."_

Ryan looked worriedy at the closed elevator doors. " I don't know sis. I feel bad for distancing myslef when we were 25," he voiced. "She might not like the idea of me showing up unannounced."

 _"Oh nonsense! She asks about how you are doing almost ever time we are together. She'd love to catch up. And maybe even rekindle what once was...?"_

"Sharpay!"

 _"Okay! Okay! But seriously though. Go catch up. Oh! I gotta go! Peyton and Zeke are fighting over who gets to sit beside me again. TTYL! Love you!"_

"Love you too," Ryan said before hanging up. He looked outside and then at the elevator. It was snowing pretty hard and he only had a ten minute drive to Sharpay's. He tucked his phone into his coat pocket and took a deep breath before stepping toward the elevator. _"I_ _sure hope Sharpay is right."_

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 **PLEASE REVIEW! (It motivates us a lot!)**

 **~ Pickles**


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